Advent begins next Sunday, November 28th! Advent is the beginning of the Church Year, and the season where we wait in anticipation for the 2nd coming of Christ. Waiting for the return of Christ is an appropriate time for self-examination.

A beautiful way to prepare your heart for the coming of Christ is the Advent wreath. The circle of the wreath and the evergreens signify God’s endless mercy and undying love. There are four candles. Three are purple or blue, the color of Advent and one candle is pink for Rose Sunday. There are many choices for Advent reflections. These are a few I have enjoyed myself or with my family.

Expectant: Advent Meditations by Anne E Kitch; This small book has brief mediations for each day of the week. A great choice for families with children elementary and up.

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas by Orbis Books; For one who wants to deeper meditations, this book offers daily writings from well-known saints such as Thomas Aquinas, Gustavo Gutierréz, Annie Dillard, John Donne and Sylvia Plath to name a few.

Shadow & Light: a Journey into Advent by Tsh Oxenreider; The short daily readings include a Scripture, reflection, a question and a simple activity to engage the senses. A great family choice.

Advent Storybook: 24 Stories to Share Before Christmas by Antonie Schneider; Beautifully illustrated stories that lead a bear to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus. This book is not taken directly from Scripture, but it is a beautiful story to count the days until Christmas. There is an advent calendar that goes with the book. The calendar is separate and not necessary to enjoy the book. This book is great for little ones.

Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: a Family Celebration of Christmas by Ann Voskamp; This large colorful book offers daily devotions, Scripture, questions and activities for all ages and beautiful illustrations. There are even ornaments you can download. This book works well for toddlers and up.

The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp; Designed for middle school to adult with Scripture and reflection questions. Ann Voskamp begins in the Old Testament connecting it to the New Testament and the coming of Christ.

The Advent Coloring Calendar: A Coloring Book to Bless and De-Stress Through the Season by Paraclete Press; For many coloring can open the heart and mind for mediation. This book offers 24 pages for coloring each with a Scripture verse.

Masks are still required for everyone two and older. We do ask that if you are feeling ill to please stay home and follow along with our online services, which can be found at the links below.

@ 6:00 p.m. – Taizé Service

@ 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite I

@ 10:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II

@ 9:00 p.m. – Compline with St. Phoebe's (via Zoom)

Note: When joining any of our Zoom meetings, please make sure your name is displayed.

2nd Note: If any of the service links above don't work, check our website for updated links.

Note the 3rd: All of our services are also available on our Facebook page.

On Sunday, November 21st, at 5:00 p.m., we will continue our celebration of our patronal feast with a Choral Evensong for St. Andrew's Day. One of the crown jewels of our Anglican musical patrimony, evensong (essentially choral Evening Prayer) is almost entirely sung by the choir, punctuated by prayer and congregational hymns.

This service will feature the music of living Scottish composers alongside choral standards and favorite evening hymns, in the meditative glow of candlelight. We'd love to have a full church to celebrate our parish and our patron, and to raise the roof on hymns, so mark your calendars!

You can see what music will be included and indicate if you are coming on our Facebook Event page.

Contact: Gabe Simerson (gabe@standrews.net)

Advent is the season in which we prepare for the birth of Jesus. The season of Advent teaches us how to wait and live in hopeful patience. We get ready to enter a huge mystery. How will you prepare? Please use these ornaments to indicate how you and your family will prepare, then cut out and bring in to be hung on our Advent board in the main hallway.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

Thanks to everyone who has already turned in their 2022 pledge. We are at 83% of our pledge goal and 68% of our participation goal! For those who haven’t pledged yet, we invite you to do so via one of these options:

Contact: Brian Jones & Karan Wright (stewardship@standrews.net)

The annual Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will take place online at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 23rd. You can join this celebration on Zoom by following this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85813167665.

If you have (legal) access to a Magnolia tree and are willing to donate some of its leaves/branches to the Flower Guild, please contact Martha Turner. Magnolia leaves are used in the greening of the church for Christmas.

Contact: Martha Turner (flower_guild@standrews.net)

Our second Sacraments class will be held on Sunday, December 5th, from 4:00-5:00 p.m., with the Rev. Will Packard and Amy Dutton. This class will discuss the sacrament of Communion. We may not need the full hour, depending on the number of participants.

These classes work best with those 4 years old and above, but please decide for yourself if you think your child could get something from this! Let Amy know ASAP if you plan on attending so we know how many to expect.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

We are back to having our Children's Pageant presented in person on Christmas Eve this year! Just as we retell our Godly Play stories each year, so we know them by heart, we also tell our Nativity story each year with our pageant. By telling this story again and again we incorporate the story into the participants' and viewers' hearts and bodies, through the ritual, prayer, and sacrament of the pageant.

The pageant will be in the same format it has been for the last few years: lots of children dressed up as various characters while older kids read the Nativity story. We will have a rehearsal on Sunday, December 19th either during or after Sunday School (more information to come). All children are welcome to participate: masks required for everyone two and older.

We also are looking for a few adults to help with herding children and leading the production with Amy. Please contact Amy if you want to volunteer.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

We are still in need of volunteers in Pre-K and Nursery. If you are vaccinated and 14 years or older, please sign up to help out (Fall Term) (Winter Term).

Thanks to everyone who signed up last week. We still need more support for the Nursery to remain open.

Contact: Christie Dasher & Stacey Peters (formation@standrews.net)

Friends of Music and Arts at St. Andrew's is back! Please mark your calendar for the season opener on Sunday, December 19th, at 4:00 p.m. in the Nave.

Join us for a delightful Celtic concert of sacred and seasonal music for the Advent-Christmas season with KAREN ASHBROOK & PAUL OORTS on hammered dulcimer, harp guitar, accordion, and pennywhistle, along with Irish-American singer EILEEN ESTES.

All donations collected during the concert will go to FACETS and ECHO. Free Admission. Masks Required.

Contact: Gabe Simerson (foma@standrews.net)

Christmas Schedule

@ 10:00 a.m. - Children's Pageant w/ Holy Eucharist (registration required)

@ 4:00 p.m. - Family Oriented Service w/ Holy Eucharist

@ 9:00 p.m. - Brass Ensemble w/ Holy Eucharist

@ 11:00 a.m. - Holy Eucharist

This past week, we saw a slight increase in cases in our area. According to the Brown School of Public Health, we have an average of 8.3 cases per 100k over the past 7 days. We remain in the “yellow” zone which is the second lowest. The “green” zone is an average of 5 cases or fewer per 100k. According to the CDC, this week we moved up a category from “moderate” to “substantial” transmission with a total of 55.07 cases per 100k (from yellow to orange). This is a 50% increase from the last 7 days. 

There were 11 covid-related hospital admissions in the past 7 days which is more than a 50% decrease. 0.92% of ICU beds were used for Covid-related purposes in the past 7 days. This shows a decrease in these two areas. The specific number of covid-related deaths was not provided this past week with the CDC listing “suppressed.” 

Vaccinations continue to increase with 70% of Fairfax County fully-vaccinated against Covid-19 (82.4% of those 12+). 81.5% of Fairfax County residents have received at least 1 dose. 99.8% of residents 65 and older have received at least 1 dose and 83.3% of residents 65 and older are fully-vaccinated. According to Fairfax County, 84.2% of those 18+ have received at least 1 dose (73.1% of total population) and 77.1% of residents 18+ are fully-vaccinated (65% of all residents). Those who are between 5 and 11 will begin to be fully-vaccinated in mid-December.

During these holiday weeks, please be informed about risks and continue to consider the needs of others. The CDC, Brown School of Public Health (www.globalepidemics.org), and Fairfax County Health Department are our main sources and you may reference those to stay informed about our area or others in the country. 

Contact: The Rev. Will Packard (will@standrews.net)

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 

Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)